"Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! The British Pop Explosion 1970-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – featuring David Essex, The Sweet, Middle Of The Road, Bay City Rollers, Mungo Jerry, Lieutenant Pigeon, White Plains, Harmony Grass, Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs, Blue Mink, Marmalade, Kenny, Bill Fay, Peter Skellern, Millie, pre 10cc groups with Kevin Godley - Graham Gouldman and Lol Crème - Hotlegs - Festival - Grumble and more, The Tremeloes, Pickettywitch, Fumble, Paintbox, Piglets, Sparky, Pluto, Jonathan King – Pseudonym Acts and UK Records, Fickle Pickle, Design, Pete Dello, Flanelcat and more (October 2020 UK Grapefruit Records 3CD Capacity Wallet with Card Sleeve Artwork and Booklet – Simon Murphy Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Don't Stick Stickers On My Paper Knickers..."

Fab 208, Pan's People, Ray Dorset's humungous sideburns, British DJs Dave Lee Travis and Kid Jensen with equally bulbous headphones grinning like Marty Feldman as they plug the latest 45-hitmaker, The Sweet in a wigwam bam, Lead Vocalist Sally Car of Middle Of The Hot in her Hot Pants (oh yes), The Bay City Rollers dreaming of shortbread, midriffs and tartan scarves and those earnest Strawberry Studios geezers in 10cc pre Rubber Bullets and The Wall Street Shuffle - God bless em all!

My fellow-sufferer/reviewer of all things Pop and Rock – The Punk Panther - has called this fascinating October 2020 3CD 85-Track trawl through the whiffy lavatories of English bubblegum rock (and other suchlike horrors) both appalling and thrilling at one and the same time. And you know what, I think the erudite lad has it nailed. I was kind of dreading this 1970 to 1973 pop-light listen (and I was right too in some cases), but then something weird happened – tune discoveries, an open mind and several bottles of paint-stripping Grappa convinced me otherwise. 

Grapefruit Records has built up a rep amongst bonkers-collectors and ancient aficionados like moi and "Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! The British Pop Explosion 1970-1973" is surely a good example as to why. Having said that, I can't in all honesty say that everything here is going tickle many fancies. But it will make anyone who was there for those first four astonishing years of the Seventies smile and occasionally even move them. The 1971 original of Mungo Jerry's "Lady Rose" on that Dawn Records EP for instance is quite rightly featured because it isn't dismissive cack – "Lady Rose" is perfectly lovely melodic harmonica-shuffling Pop that crosses over into the Rock genre (a nugget you overlooked). And I found quite a few more similar veins like that (the wickedly good pre 10cc band called Festival and the Northern Soul vibe of Brenda Arnau). 

So let's get to the Neanderthal Man, Groove with Mr. Bloe and lay it on Johnny Reggae (Reggae) - you big girl's blouse...

UK released Friday, 30 October 2020 - "Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! The British Pop Explosion 1970-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Grapefruit Records CRSEG080T (Barcode 5013929188020) is a 3CD Capacity Wallet set of 85 Remastered Tracks and plays out as follows: 

CD1 (79:14 minutes):
1. Groovin' With Mr. Bloe - MR. BLOE (March 1970 UK 45-single on DJM Records DJS 216, A)
2. It's The Same Old Song - THE WEATHERMEN (December 1970 UK 45-single on B&C Records CB 139, A)
3. The Banner Man - BLUE MINK (June 1971 UK 45-single on Regal Zonophone RZ 3034, A)
4. Come On Around - PAINTBOX (October 1972 UK 45-single on President PT 384, A)
5. 17 - SIMON TURNER (November 1972 UK 45-single on UK Records UK 20, A)
6. That Same Old Feeling - PICKETTYWITCH (January 1970 UK 45-single on Pye 7N 17887, A)
7. Friend Of Mine - Dr. MARIGOLD'S (April 1972 UK 45-single on CBS Records 7986, A)
8. Feedback - MAJORITY ONE (from the July 1971 Italian LP "Majority One" on Jolly LPJ 5109) 
9. Pollution - GINGERBREAD (April 1971 UK 45-single on Pye 7N 45054, A)
10. Neanderthal Man - HOTLEGS (June 1970 UK 45-single on Fontana 6007 019, A)
11. I Fought The Law - POSSE (November 1973 UK 45-single on Santa Ponsa PNS 9, A)
12. Alexander Park (Palisades Park) - FUMBLE (July 1973 UK 45-single on Sovereign SDV 121, A)
13. Emma Louise - STUD LEATHER (February 1973 UK 45-single on Dart ART 2024, A)
14. Circus Girl - CLIFFORD T. WARD (from the September 1972 UK LP "Singer Songwriter" on Dandelion 2310 216)
15. My Little One - THE MARMALADE (February 1971 UK 45-single on Decca F 13135, A)
16. Gay Girl - JONATHAN KING (August 1970 UK 45-single on Decca F 13069, B-side of "Cherry, Cherry")
17. Dirty Old Man - LIEUTENANT PIGEON (from the February 1973 UK LP "Mouldy Old Music" on Decca SKL 5154)
18. Summer Feeling - PAUL GABRIEL (June 1972 UK 45-single on UK Records UK 3, A)
19. Tawny Wood - THE ANSWERS (January 1972 UK 45-single on Spark Records SRL 1058, B-side to "Give Me All That I Need")
20. My Little Girl - AUTUMN (August 1971 UK 45-single on Pye 7N 45090, A, a Harmony Grass cover version)
21. Hello, Hello, Hello - STORMY PETREL (June 1971 UK 45-single on CBS Records 7271, A)
22. Turn Me On - THE MATCHMAKERS (from the April 1971 UK LP "Bubblegum A-Go-Go" on Chapter One CMS-R 1004)
23. Sha La Ley - THE SECRETS (November 1972 UK 45-single on Spark SRL 1083, A)
24. Hello Goodbye - SPARROW [featuring Elaine Paige] (April 1971 UK 45-single on Spark SRL 1052, A)
25. Travellin' Man - TRISTAR AIRBUS (January 1972 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2170, B-side to "Willie Morgan" - B-side "Travellin' Man" written by Graham Gouldman and features most of 10cc as the backing band)
26. Sunday Girl - DUNNO (November 1971 UK 45-single on M and M Records FFMS 10013, A)
27. Top Ten Record - RICK PRICE (January 1971 UK 45-single on Gemini GMS 017, A)
28. Leap Up And Down - ST. CECELIA (April 1971 UK 45-single on Polydor 2058 104, A)

CD2 (79:41 minutes):
1. Johnny Reggae - THE PIGLETS (October 1971 UK 45-single on Bell BLL 1180, A)
2. Dreams Are Ten A Penny - KINCADE (September 1972 UK 45-singl eon Penny Farthing PEN 796, A)
3. Wig-Wam Bam - THE SWEET (September 1972 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2260, A)
4. I Like It That Way - THE TREMELOES (May 1972 UK 45-single on CBS Records CBS 8048, A)
5. It Ain't Easy - THE SAD (November 1971 UK 45-single on Phoenix NIX 124, A)
6. Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? - TINA HARVEY (September 1973 US 45-single on UK Records 45-49016, A - a Rolling Stones cover)
7. Baby Walk Back - GUMM (November 1970 UK 45-single on M and M Records FFM 10001, A)
8. Popsicles And Icicles - THE ANGELETTES (August 1972 UK 45-single on UK Records UK 11, A)
9. Da Doo Ron Ron - GRUMBLE (June 1973 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2384, A - a Crystals cover)
10. Big Fat Oranguman - JUNGLE JIM (August 1971 UK 45-single on Pye 7N 45092, A)
11. Loop Of Love - SHAG (August 1972 UK 45-single on UK Records UK 7, A)
12. Don't Stick Stickers On My Paper Knickers - X-CERTIFICATE (September 1973 UK 45-single on Spark SRL 1096, A)
13. Mayfair - MILLIE (March 1970 UK 45-single Trojan TR 7744, A)
14. On The Dole - ARTHUR'S MOTHER (March 1971 UK 45-single on Polydor 2058 093, A)
15. When You Are A King - WHITE PLAINS (May 1971 UK 45-single on Deram DM 333, A)
16. Cowboy Convention - CALIFORNIA BREAKMEN (April 1972 UK 45-single on M and M Records FFMS 10016, A)
17. Lady Rose - MUNGO JERRY (May 1971 UK 45-single 4-Track EP on Dawn DNX 2510, Track 1, Side A)
18. Sweet Water - JEFF ASTLE (November 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2147, A)
19. Cecilia - HARMONY GRASS (February 1970 UK 45-single on RCA Records RCA 1932, A - a Simon & Garfunkel cover)
20. It's My Party - BUBBLEROCK (from the August 1972 UK LP "Bubblerock Is Here To Stay!" on UK Records UKA 1 – a Leslie Gore cover)
21. Rupert - JACKIE LEE (November 1970 UK 45-single on Pye 7N 45003, A)
22. Crickets - PETER COWAP (July 1970 UK 45-single on Pye 7N 17976, A)
23. Rag-A-Bone Joe - PLUTO (October 1971 UK 45-single on Dawn DNS 1017, A)
24. Round And Round - RICKY WILDE (February 1973 UK 45-single on UK Records UK 28, a Marty Wilde song and B-side of "April Love")
25. Come Into My Heart - RUSTY HARNESS (November 1970 UK 45-single on Ember EMBS 295, A)
26. Warm Me - FESTIVAL (October 1972 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2275, A)
27. She Left I Died - TERRY DACTYL & THE DINOSAURS (May 1973 UK 45-single on UK Records UK R 39, A)
28. Hang On Sloopy - SAKKARIN - (July 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2107, A - a McCoys cover)

CD3 (79:46 minutes):
1. Suspicion - VIVIAN STANSHALL and GARGANTUAN CHUMS (December 1970 UK 45-single on Fly Records BUG 4, A - an Elvis Presley cover - 'chums' included Keith Moon and John Entwistle of The Who)
2. Golden Oldie Show - STARDUST (August 1973 UK 45-single on Sonet 2036, A)
3. I Can't Hide - BILL FAY - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded 1972)
4. Harry The Earwig - PETE DELLO & FRIENDS (from the July 1971 UK LP "Into Your Eyes” on Nepantha 6437 001)
5. The Rolly Pole Coaster - BUGGY (February 1970 UK 45-single on Parlophone R 5832, A)
6. I Want To Go Back There Again - (BRENDA) B.J. ARNAU (January 1972 UK 45-single on Mojo 2092 028, A - Berry Gordy song, Chris Clark cover)
7. The Jet Song (When The Weekend's Over) - DESIGN (April 1971 UK 45-single on Epic EPC S 7119, A)
8. Lamplight - DAVID ESSEX (November 1973 UK 45-single on CBS Records S 1902, A)
9. California Calling - FICKLE PICKLE (November 1971 Dutch 45-single on Negram DEX 03, A)
10. My Sweet Potato - BUTTERWICK (February 1972 UK 45-single on MAM Records MAM 63, A)
11. You Got A Good Thing - TOUCHWOOD (March 1972 UK 45-single on Ember EMBS 314, A)
12. Jennifer Please - GARY WARREN (August 1971 UK 45-single on President PT 344, A)
13. Keep On Dancing - BAY CITY ROLLERS (June 1971 UK 45-single on Bell Records BLL 1164, A)
14. Hello Blinkers - KEV and LOL (Original 1970 Release, Uncredited Promo-Only 45 on Inter City/Strawberry Studios IC 1215)
15. Our Jackie's Getting Married - PETER SKELLERN (November 1972 UK 45-single on Decca F 13360, A)
16. Nursery Lane - CHRISTYAN (November 1972 UK 45-single on Decca F 13275, A - featuring David Paton and Billy Lyall pre formation of Pilot)
17. Today - RICH TEA (September 1972 UK 45-single on Dart ART 2014, B-side of "Sing Me, Swing Me")
18. Samson And Delilah - MIDDLE OF THE ROAD (June 1972 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2237, A)
19. You Gotta Have It Sometime - SPARKY (October 1972 UK 45-single on UK Records UK 16, B-side of "(Do You Remember That) Summertime Woman?")
20. Who Is The Doctor? - JON PERTWEE (November 1972 UK 45-single on Purple Records PUR 111, A - features Rupert Hine)
21. Timothy Jones - ROD THOMAS (May 1972 UK 45-single on Cube records BUG 19, A)
22. Today's A Tomorrow - CRUSH (June 1973 UK 45-single on Santa Ponsa PNS 3, A)
23. Don't You Know (She Said Hello) - BUTTERSCOTCH (March 1970 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 1937, A)
24. Heart Of Stone - KENNY (January 1973 UK 45-single on RAK Records RAK 144, A)
25. Living Right Next Door To An Angel - SUMMER WINE (March 1973 UK 45-single on Philips 6006 238, A)
26. Beep Beep - THE BUMBLES (June 1972 UK 45-single on Purple Records PUR 107, A - featuring David Curtiss of Curtiss Maldoon and John Cann of Atomic Rooster and Hard Stuff)
27. Drivin' Drivin' - HIGH NOON (May 1970 UK 45-single on CBS Records S 4972, A)
28. Yer Big Girl's Blouse - FLANELCAT (March 1973 UK 45-single on UK Records UK 33, A - by Mike Hugg of Manfred Mann)
29. Bubblerock Is Here To Stay - BUBBLEROCK (September 1972 UK 45-single on UK Records UK 14, B-side of "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock") - Jonathan King using a Pseudonym

Some have decried Grapefruit for abandoning the glossy 'clamshell mini box set' format and instead lumbering us with what is now called a 'capacity wallet' - a sort of thin card slipcase housing (in this case) individual card sleeves (generous playing times too in all three cases, a snip below 80-minutes) and a 40-page booklet (see photos provided). I'm easy one-way or the other, but for sure the clamshell box is sturdier and feels more substantial. Still, let's deal with what we do have. 

DAVID WELLS has done stunning liner notes before, packed with info and titbits that amaze and make you giggle into the bargain. Here DW digs deeper still, providing individual entries for each song sat alongside the photo displays that are both awesome. Speaking of displays in the booklet. As you can see from the listings above, each CD is largely made up of UK 7" singles and as anyone knows, most only came with label bags - UK Records, CBS, Decca, RCA Victor and so on. In order to provide visuals, someone has sought out those rare 'Euro' variants almost all of which came with exclusive pic sleeves of the bands/artists – the kind of shots collectors love. On top of that you are treated to period photos of 'Look In' magazine, sheet music for "Neanderthal Man" by Hotlegs (pre 10cc) and snaps of both the ladies in the audience of 'Top Of The Pops' and Pan's People as a trio posing in gold lame on its stage (Louise Clark, Babs Lord and Dee Dee Wilde looking hotter than a pepper sprout).  

Some of this stuff is funny and even plain weird. Little will prepare you for the shot of both The Who's Keith Moon and The Bonzo's Vivian Stanshall dressed up in Nazi uniforms to promote a Christmas single in 1970 (well of course they were) or the cherubic nice-tie and haircut teen Gary Warren sat straight-faced by the demonically-bearded Catweazle from the popular British TV show (Warren was literally one of The Railway Children in that Jennifer Agutter film) about to sing a B-side penned by the writer of Psych classics for City Smoke and Orange Seaweed. 
And if that wasn't enough, on disc 2, the playlist veers into rude innuendo and Benny Hill smut when X Certificate urges you to "Don't Stick Stickers On My Paper Knickers" while "My Boy Lollipop" Millie poses literally in the buff for her "Mayfair" 45. Disappointingly (and I know many will weep over this) - St. Cecilia's loose undergarments tune "Leap Up And Down" on CD1 where the picture sleeve is them literally in oversized underpants (apparently knickers was a very funny word in the early 70ts) – have been denied their topical follow-up "C'mon Ma (Burn Your Bra)" on this naughty clotheshorse of a compilation - a devastating blow I think you'll agree. What japes indeed! 

The 40-page booklet to "Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! The British Pop Explosion 1970-1973" is a fantastic and varied read, absolutely crammed to the gunnels with factoids that throw light onto artists and their tangled career trees. The SIMON MURPHY masters are a mixed bag of the good, the great and the just so-so. But I was so busy enjoying myself (or not) to notice audio compromises in such a huge number of acts. To the music...

CD1 opens strongly with the crowd-pleasing instrumental "Groovin' With Mr. Bloe" – the kind of cool tune that ends up in movies. But there are horrors lurking too – The Weathermen doing an insipid cover of The Four Tops Motown hit "It's The Same Old Song", the teen mulch that is "17" by Simon Turner and Jonathan King doing "Gay Girl" (oh dear). Discoveries and clever inclusions include a European LP-only track from Majority One and cracking songs from Stormy Petrel and Paintbox. Great Pop too from The Secrets and the lovely "Tawny Wood" by an obscure group called The Answers. And it still amazes me to think that the pre 10cc half-hearted seaside shuffle of "Neanderthal man" shifted over two million copies. 

We enter the world of the musically bizarre with Disc 2 where Nick Drake fans will find out that an unissued song of his called "Mayfair" was brought by his ace arranger Robert Kirby to Millie (of My Boy Lollipop fame) who then Reggae-fied it into a surprisingly dull effort on Trojan Records (God this is wrong on so many levels). With regard to the fab unsung hero that is Robert Kirby - see my review for the Ace Records CD compilation "When The Day Is Done - The Orchestrations Of Robert Kirby" (use Barcode 029667088022 to locate it). 

Jonathan King, his pseudonym bands and the UK Records label in general appear across all the discs - Shag, Sakkarin, Bubblerock and opening CD2 is the right tasty geezer Mavis of "Johnny Reggae" – a great deal more fun than I remember it. Productions values jump leaps and bounds for The Hollies meets The Moody Blues acoustic Rock of Kincade and their excellent "Dreams Are Ten A Penny". Discoveries include a creepy re-working of the Stones drug-tune "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?" by Tina Harvey, the wife who finds it hard to live with her bisexual husband in "It Ain't Easy" by The Sad (the BBC banned it for a while), and again the voices and productions of Gouldman and Crème in "Crickets" by Peter Cowap. Speaking of that band – the Festival tune "Warm Me" is such a hit but again didn’t make it. Neither here nor there looms large too in the West Bromwich Albion centre-forward come singer Jeff Astle or the awful "Rupert" by Jackie Lee. 

By the time we get to Disc 3, a case of diminishing returns and patience testing kicks in big time with tripe like Buggy or Pete Dello or Butterwick or Touchwood. But there is fun in the guitar pop of the Rich Tea B-side, the second 45 from David Essex "Lamplight" is welcome too (even if it borrows from a Leon Russell tune), and the lovely cover of the Berry Gordy-written Chris Clark tune "I Want To Go Back There Again" by B. J. Arnau – is a surprisingly sweet Northern Soul vibe in a compilation a million miles away from such things. Jon Pertwee tells Dr. Who fans "...through the cosmic waste, the Tardis flies..." in his distinctive and cool voice on "Who Is The Doctor?” while Design has those, Rotary Connection meets The Association harmonies on the go in a rather good tune called "The Jet Song..."

For sure, Grapefruit could be accused of trying to hold-in the fat belly of Seventies pop-light detritus with "Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! The British Pop Explosion 1970-1973", when they should lock it all up in a nuclear bunker and never let it out again for fear of contamination of vulnerable younger minds. But isn't that half the fun?

Where is a musical Playtex Girdle when you need one – right here baby...in a Capacity Wallet...

"Hamish Imlach/Before And After/Hamish Imlach Live!/The Two Sides Of Hamish Imlach + Bonus Tracks" by HAMISH IMLACH – Four Albums from 1966, 1967 and 1968 and a 1966 Stand-Alone 45-Single – Guests Included Bobby Campbell of The Exiles, Oscar St. Cyr, Clive Palmer (of The Incredible String Band), Ray Warleigh of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and John Stevens' Away, Martin Fry of The Temperance Seven, John McKinnon of Madder Lake and Archie Fisher of The Fisher Family (May 2020 UK Beat Goes On Reissue – 4LPs onto 2CDs Plus Two Bonus Tracks – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Street Songs..."

Born in India to Scottish parents but raised as a something of a street brat in Glasgow from the age of 13 with passions for the local working class and their struggles – the huge-framed Folk and Comedy troubadour HAMISH IMLACH sees his first four albums for Transatlantic's XTRA Records reissued here in a generous twofer package. 

Lobbing on two Bonus Tracks on CD2 – you get rare Folk LPs from 1966, 1967 and 1968 (three studio and one live) Remastered and card slip-cased by England's Beat Goes On Records (BGO) alongside his stand-alone debut UK 45-single from early 1966 "I'm The Boy To Freeze 'Em" b/w "Scottish Breakaway" on Transatlantic Records TRA SP 11. 

Very much in a Scottish tradition of wit, trade unions and hometown misery – you get tales of 37 buses, clapped out bangers and hornary moggies from Dundee. Underappreciated nationally yet prolific nonetheless, by the time Scotland's Imlach passed from health issues in 1996, he had released some 20 albums and mentored a young Billy Connolly in the ways of a ribald raconteur. Here are the Cod Liver Oil Coppers, Plaidie Bonny Lasses and Drumboe Whiskey Devils (if you know what I’m saying)...

UK released Friday, 22 May 2020 - "Hamish Imlach/Before And After/Hamish Imlach Live!/The Two Sides Of Hamish Imlach + Bonus Tracks" by HAMISH IMLACH on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1414 (Barcode 5017261214140) offers Four Folk LPs Remastered onto 2CDs with Two 45-Single Stand-Alone Tracks as Bonuses. It plays out as follows: 

CD1 (69:50 minutes):
1. Johnny O'Breadislee [Side 1]
2. Man Of Knoydart 
3. The Zoological Gardens
4. Street Songs 
5. Cod Liver Oil And Orange Juice
6. The Gaudie 
7. If It Wasn't For The Unions [Side 2]
8. The Cumbie Boys 
9. Erin Go Bragh 
10. The Soldier's Prayer 
11. Black Is The Colour 
12. Foggy Due 
Tracks 1 to 12 are his debut album "Hamish Imlach" - released 1966 on XTRA Records XTRA 1039. Produced by NATHAN JOSEPH – Hamish Imlach on Guitar and Vocals (reissued in March 1977 on Transatlantic TRA SAM 43 with the same title). 

13. Tall Tale [Side 1]
14. Ramensky 
15. The Copper's Song
16. The Klan
17. MacPherson's Farewell
18. Candy Man 
19. The 37 Bus [Side 2]
20. I Am A Miller 
21. The Castle Of Drumboe 
22. The Dundee Cat
23. Sporting Life 
Tracks 13 to 23 are his second studio album "Before And After" – released 1967 in the UK on XTRA Records XTRA 1059. Produced by NATHAN JOSEPH – Hamish Imlach on Guitar and Vocals with Bobby Campbell of The Exiles on Fiddle and Oscar St. Cyr on Mandola and Concertina. 

CD2 (75:57 minutes):
1. I Was A Gay Spark In My Time [Side 1]
2. Whisky You're The Devil 
3. Early Morning Blues 
4. The Ballad Of Timothy Evans 
5. It's Better In The Dark 
6. Campbell [Side 2]
7. Castlereagh 
8. The Wind Blew The Bonnie Lassie's Plaidie Awa'
9. Paddy Lay Back 
Tracks 1 to 9 are his third album "Hamish Imlach Live!" - released 1967 in the UK on XTRA Records XTRA 1050. Produced by NATHAN JOSEPH – Hamish Imlach on Guitar and Vocals. 

10. Jean Harlow (Died The Other Day - Several Times) [Side 1]
11. Clapped Out Motorcar
12. I Got Fooled 
13. Bourgeois Blues
14. The Hurny Bull 
15. The Happiest Day
16. The McGregors [Side 2]
17. Anthony Riley 
18. Deep Elm Blues
19. D Day Dodgers 
20. History Of Football 
21. The Priest And The Minister  
Tracks 10 to 21 are his fourth album (third studio set) "The Two Sides Of Hamish Imlach" - released 1968 in the UK on XTRA Records XTRA 1069. Produced by NATHAN JOSEPH - Hamish Imlach on Guitar and Vocals, Clive Palmer (of The Incredible String Band) on Banjo and Kazoo, Ray Warleigh of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and John Stevens' Away on Flute, Martin Fry of The Temperance Seven on Tuba, John McKinnon of Madder Lake on Fiddle and Archie Fisher of The Fisher Family on Banjo and Concertina.

BONUS TRACKS:
22. I'm The Boy To Freeze 'Em 
23. Scottish Breakaway 
Tracks 22 and 23 are the A&B-sides of his stand-alone 45-single debut from 1966 on Transatlantic Records TRA SP 11. "Scottish Breakaway" was featured on "The Hamish Imlach Sampler" LP in 1969 on Transatlantic TRA SAM 9.

The card slipcase lends these BGO reissues that touch of visual specialness while JOHN O'REGAN does his usual classy and in-depth liner notes on the man's larger than life persona. The artwork photos for the four LPs along with their respective liner notes of the day (if any) are reproduced in the booklet (the song-by-song credits are on the rear of the card sleeve). Politics, the oppression of the poor and roots sometimes-un-PC comedy is never far from Imlach's lips - Scottish crofters and desperate but brave Robin Hood types stealing deer from the King's land to feed their children. In-between we get jabs at Prime Ministers, covers of Leadbelly's "Bourgeois Blues", tales of tours with Planxty and The Dubliners in Ireland, all the way up to the inevitable heartbreak of a lass who took some wee laddie's heart in tunes like "Black Is The Colour" (the cheeky moo). 

Long-time Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON has done the 2020 Remasters from original tapes and these primarily Acoustic analogue recordings sound gorgeous - rattling six-strings and self-effacing humour echoing around your speakers. Let's get to the records...

When Imlach came to Scotland as a 13-year old teen in 1953, he had already lived in India's Darjeeling and Australia's Brisbane with his wandering parents. So in some respects it's no surprise that as a 26-year old man in 1966 Glasgow, his XTRA Records debut album is filled with myth and mirth and Folk songs that touch on unrequited love, zoological gardens and trade unions. There is a theme of noble struggle in "Street Songs", "The Cumbie Boys" and "Men Of Knoydart". The bleak acoustic guitar and lone vocal only add to the poignancy. 

The second studio album "Before And After" (and his second in 1967, the sequence of releases in wrong here) adds on two musicians in the shape of Bobby Campbell of The Exiles on Fiddle and Oscar St. Cyr on Mandola and Concertina. It's eleven tracks bring us more vignettes on the clans of Drumboe and dodgy cats in Dundee. There's more than a touch of The Dubliners in the drunken fiddle tune in "MacPherson's Farewell" and big Jimmy on the upper deck on the 37 bus where hairy Mary's boyfriend is kicking up a fuss - a bottle of wine in hand (lost a wad on the dogs). 

When you put his huge personality into a live setting (his first album in 1967), it all comes to life. Jokes like whenever a baby was born, a man left town, and this is why the village kept its population at the same number. "Early Morning Blues" sees our hero made sore by his baby - leaving and ain't coming back anymore. But there is also pathos in "The Wind Blew Bonnie Lassie's Plaidie Awa'" and it was a smart move for album number four to up the ante musician wise – Jug-band music in "Jean Harlow..." and the ceilidh round the fireside hoot to "History Of Football". 

This kind of barroom-brawling history-remembering Folk is an acquired taste, truth be told, and at times you just wish Imlach had chosen to dig deeper into Traditional ballads where his big voice would have moved instead of forever being dubbed 'the king of entertainment'. 

Still, if you're a fan, this is a must own and a lovely reminder of a great storytelling talent lost...

"Swarbrick/Swarbrick 2/Smiddyburn" by DAVE SWARBRICK – November 1976, April 1977 and July 1981 UK LPs on Transatlantic and Logo Records – Guests included Martin Carthy, Alan Robertson, Kate Graham, Dave Mattacks, Bruce Rowland, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg (all Fairport Convention), Beryl and Roger Marriott (of The Ceilidh Band) with John McCormack (of The Spinners) (April 2011 UK Beat Goes On Reissue – 3LPs onto 2CDs – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Singing Bird..."

Now here's a bit of a wee belter. 

With time off from Fairport Convention and help from some of their jolly crew including his pals Martin Carthy, Simon Nicols and Producer Bruce Rowland, what you get here are three of Dave Swarbrick's fiddle-playing best solo LPs from 1976, 1977 and 1981 lumped together into one tasty 2CD love-bucket. With fabulous remastered audio from original Transatlantic and Logo Records tapes and card slipcase presentation – it looks the part too. Fiddly dee indeed. 

Let's get to the vicars, the hags, the shepherds, the rakes and the rocky roads to England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales...

UK released 12 April 2011 - "Swarbrick/Swarbrick 2/Smiddyburn" by DAVE SWARBRICK on Beat Goes On BGOCD 979 (Barcode 5017261209795) offers three LPs from 1976, 1977 and 1981 Remastered onto 2CDs that plays out as follows: 

CD1 (45:17 minutes):

1. The Heilanman/Drowsy Maggie [Side 1]

2. Carthy's March

3. The White Cockade/Doc Boyd's Jig/Durham Rangers 

4. My Singing Bird 

5. The Nightingale 

6. Once I Loved A Maiden Fair

7. The Killarney Boys Of Pleasure 

8. Lady In The Boat/Rosin The Bow/Timour The Tartar

9. Byker Hill [Side 2]

10. The Ace And The Deuce Of Pipering 

11. Hole In The Wall 

12. Ben Dorian 

13. The Hullichans/Chorus Jig

14. The 79th's Farewell To Gibraltar 

15. Arthur McBride/Snug In The Blanket

Tracks 1 to 15 are his second studio album "Swarbrick" - released November 1976 in the UK on Transatlantic TRA 337 (Produced by Bruce Rowland, not issued in the USA). 

CD2 (77:54 minutes):

1. The Athole Highlanders [Side 1]

2. Shannon Bells/Fairy Dance/Miss McLeod's Reel

3. The King Of The Fairies

4. Chief O'Neill's Favourite/Newcastle Hornpipe

5. Sheebeg And Sheemore 

6. The Rocky Road To Dublin/Sir Phillip McHugh 

7. Planxty Morgan Mawgan

8. The Swallows Tail/Rakes Of Kildare/Blackthorn Stick 

9. Sheagh Of The Rye/The Friar's Breeches [Side 2]

10. Derwentwater's Farewell/The Noble Squire Dacre

11. Teribus/Farewell To Aberdeen

12. Bonaparte's Retreat 

13. Shepherd's Hey 

14. Lord Inchiquin

15. The Coulin 

Tracks 1 to 15 are his third studio album "Swarbrick 2" - released April 1977 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 341 (Bruce Rowland produced, not issued in the USA).

16. Wat Ye Wah I Met The Streen/The Ribbons Of The Redhead Girl/Ril Gan Ainm [Side 1]

17. Sir Charles Coote/Smiths 

18. I Have A Wife Of My Own/Lady Mary Hay's Scotch Measure

19. Wishing/The Vicar's Return/The Gravel Walk 

20. When The Battle Is Over [Side 2]

21. Sword Dance/The Young Black Cow

22. Sean O'Dwyer Of The Glen/The Hag With The Money/Sleepy Maggie

23. It Suits Me Well 

Tracks 16 to 23 are his sixth studio album "Smiddyburn" – released July 1981 in the UK on Logo Records LOGO 1029 (Produced by John Woods). Guests include Dave Mattacks and Bruce Rowland on Drums with Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol on Guitars and Bob Pegg on Bass (all Fairport Convention) with Beryl and Roger Marriott on Piano and Harmonica (of The Ceilidh Band) and John McCormack (of The Spinners) on Double Bass. 

The debut album from 1967 "Rags, Reels & Airs" by New Malden and Surrey's favourite violin/fiddle player was shared with other British Folk luminaries Martin Carthy and Daz Disley - Bounty Records BY 6030 being a vinyl rarity that will set you back a few quid in 2020 (he also appeared on other Martin Carthy projects in 1967, 1968 and 1969). But along with Dave Mattacks, Swarbrick changed his life forever by joining Fairport Convention in the autumn twilight of the Sixties, just in time for the groundbreaking December 1969 release of the legendary LP "Liege & Lief" – Fairport's third album in that amazing year and a huge shot in the arm to the Folk-Rock genre. By the time he'd reached 1976 – it was sorely time for solo album number two. And that's where this twofer kicks in. 

The outer card slipcase always lends these BGO reissues a touch of presentation class and the 16-page booklet within features typically deep liner notes from long-time scribe for Beat Goes On – JOHN O'REGAN. The few photographs that were on the original LPs (him with ciggy in mouth and violin in hand) are all here as are the track-by-track playlists. The joining of Fairport looms large in the text, his contributions to FC albums like "Full House" and "Babbacombe Lee" is discussed, as is his incredibly productive brother-from-another-mother relationship with guitarist Martin Carthy. ANDREW THOMPSON did the Remasters from original tapes in 2011 and these albums sound gorgeous – acoustic instruments in the hands of virtuosos and a sympathetic and experienced Producer. 

The surname-titled debut "Swarbrick" opens with "The Heilanman/Drowsy Maggie" which sounds like Planxty on several tabs of Irish Folk fiddle speed. Things settle into jaunty Acoustic and Violin dancing territory with the likes of "The Nightingale" and the fun times of "The Ace And Deuce Of Pipering" - while Martin Carthy provides beautiful acoustic guitar accompaniment in an upbeat rendition of "Arthur McBride". Mellow comes in the shape of the lovely instrumental "Once I Loved A Maiden Fair" – probably the prettiest outing on a very Traditional Folk music first album for Transatlantic Records. 

Released only six months later in April 1977 as England grappled with the first flushes of New Wave and Punk - "Swarbrick 2" saw Bruce Rowland return as Producer and occasional Drummer, while the duo of Beryl and Roger Marriott of The Ceilidh Band lent a hand on Keyboards and Melodeon. Kate Graham also played fiddle while Dave Pegg offered his Bass playing talents. Opening with "The Athole Highlanders" – Martin Carthy on Guitar and Bruce Rowland on Drums – Swarbrick and his two buddies sounded like a great Folk Act in a bar in Connemara with a roaring fire on the go and the Guinness flowing from busy taps. Horslips would rock up "The King Of The Fairies" for their "Dancehall Sweethearts" album of 1974 (a single too) – here its just Swarbrick unaccompanied – his fiddle playing an altogether more dignified affair where the playfulness in the air somehow also contains sadness – yet you don't know why (he does the solo same on "Bonaparte's Retreat"). Simon Nicol does a gorgeous job on Acoustic Guitar accompanying Swarbrick for the pretty "Sheebeg And Sheemore". Number 2 ends with the lonesome near six minutes of "The Coulin" where Swarbrick is accompanied by Savourna Stevenson on a harp-like instrument called a 'clarsach'.   

The closest many got to a Fairport Convention Folk-Rock album, July 1981's "Smiddyburn" saw many of the gang proffer their chops - including Richard Thompson. The simplistic English fiddle reels and airs of the first two LPs presented here are replaced with a more filled-out 'band' sound. And yet when Thompson does a three-way Mandolin battle with Swarbrick and Dave Pegg on "Sir Charles Coote/Smiths" (all three on the same instrument), it feels like a multi-layered middle passage on Mike Oldfield's "Hergest Ridge" or "Ommadawn" - very cool (they repeat the Mandolin trio thing for "When The Battle Is Over". You are ever so slightly ill prepared for the beauty of "Sean O'Dwyer Of The Glen..." where Beryl Marriott plays a truly sweet piano intro before soon being joined by Swarbrick speeding things up with "The Hag With The Money" reel. The accomplished "Smiddyburn" album ends with both Thompson and Nicol providing guitars for "It Suits Me well" while Swarb puts in a rare lead vocal.

For sure both Swarbrick and these defiantly English Folk LPs will not be everyone's idea of Sunday afternoon chill or Saturday Night spandex pants. But they make me smile. 

And I still find it amazing that at the time, I got just as excited about The Bothy Band and the likes of Dave Swarbrick as I did about The Clash and The Sex Pistols both of whom would probably have nutted these stunning musicians with a concrete brick taken from a strike blockade. Great times indeed...

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"Raindances: The Transatlantic Recordings 1973-1975" by GRYPHON – Including Four UK Albums - "Gryphon" (June 1973), "Midnight Mushrumps" and "Red Queen To Gryphon Three" (May and November 1974) with "Raindance" (September 1975) - featuring Richard Harvey, Brian Gulland, Graeme Taylor, Dave Oberle, Philip Nestor and Malcolm Bennett (August 2018 UK Esoteric Recordings Compilation – 4LPs onto 2CDs – Ben Wiseman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Midnight Mushrumps..."

Described by one erudite music-press scribbler in the early Seventies as a "...13th Century Slade..." – England's hairy men of GRYPHON replaced bovver boots and mirror-ball top hats with ye olde powdered wigs, frilly velvet coats and chubby lutes sat on cushions surrounded by patchouli bowls and 16-track mixing consoles. 

Their often rhythmically complex instrumental passages crossed over into Amazing Blondel territory (an Island Records band in 1970 and 1971) and into Focus circa 1972 and 1973 on Polydor – a sort of five-piece Medieval Folk act with Prog Rock leanings and flourishes. Gryphon Music feels like Canada's Rush had a love child with England's Fairport Convention or Mr. Fox and didn't know what to do with the resulting squawler – a mishmash of soundscapes that even now defies description. 

But inside this undoubted virtuoso playing was beauty and even prettiness – and each of their four albums for Transatlantic Records came in those glorious stippled-effect artwork sleeves that made collectors like me a little unnecessary in the trouser area. Remastered from original tapes - the audio rocks (another Ben Wiseman winner), the presentation is sweet and I've seen this wee beauty online for under a tenner from some retailers. I love it. Here are the Midnight Mushrumps...

UK released Friday, 24 August 2018 - "Raindances: The Transatlantic Recordings 1973-1975" by GRYPHON on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC22639 (Barcode 5013929473942) offers 4LPs Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

CD1 (74:05 minutes):
1. Kemp's Jig [Side 1]
2. Sir Gavin Grimbold 
3. Touch And Go
4. Three Jolly Butchers 
5. Pastime With Good Company 
6. The Unquiet Grave 
7. Estampie [Side 2]
8. Crossing The Stiles 
9. The Astrologer
10. Tea Wrecks 
11. Juniper Suite 
12. The Devil And The Farmer's Wife  
Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut album "Gryphon" - released June 1973 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 262 (no USA release). Produced by LAURENCE ASTON and ADAM SKEAPING - it didn't chart.

13. Midnight Mushrumps [Side 1]
14. The Ploughboy's Dream [Side 2]
15. The Last Flash Of Gaberdine Tailor 
16. Gulland Rock 
17. Ethelion 
Tracks 13 to 17 are their second studio album "Midnight Mushrumps" - released May 1974 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 282 (no US release). Produced by GRYPHON - it didn't chart. 

CD2 (79:54 minutes):
1. Opening Move (9:48 minutes) [Side 1]
2. Second Spasm (8:21 minutes)
3. Lament (10:50 minutes) [Side 2]
4. Checkmate (9:48 minutes)
Tracks 1 to 4 are their third studio album "Red Queen To Gryphon Three" - released November 1974 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 287 and December 1974 in the USA on Bell Records BELL 1316. Produced by GRYPHON and DAVE GRINSTEAD - it didn't chart in either country.

5. Down The Dog [Side 1]
6. Raindance 
7. Mother Nature's Son
8. Le Cambrioleur Est Dans Le Mouchir 
9. Ormolu 
10. Fontiental Version 
11. Wallbanger [Side 2]
12. Don't Say Go 
13. (Ein Klein) Heidenleben 
Tracks 5 to 13 are their fourth album "Raindance" - released September 1975 in the UK on Transatlantic TRA 302 (no US release). Produced by GRYPHON - it didn't chart  

GRYPHON was:
RICHARD HARVEY - Keyboards, Recorders and Krumhorn
BRIAN GULLAND - Bassoon and Krumhorn
GRAEME TAYLOR - Guitars
PHILIP NESTOR - Bass
DAVID OBERLE - Drums, Percussion and Tympanies
MALCOLM BENNETT replaced Philip Nestor for "Raindance" - Bass, Flute and Lyrics 

The 24-page booklet is a pleasingly fat and pretty affair - all four albums covers given a page each and new liner notes from long-time writer MALCOLM DOME on the British band's very English peculiarities. Those who would worry that this is sort of silly Blackadder incidental music should not feel so - there is more Prog Folk or Folk Rock going on here than the mediaeval tag Gryphon is always whacked with. 

For sure as you peruse the song titles provided above - Jolly Butchers, Ploughman's Dreams and Raindances down in the Dog are very ye olde type music - but Gryphon infused the old with the new - and by the time they reached "Red Queen To Gryphon Three" - four lengthy pieces of music - they were very much in the Gentle Giant meets Trees meets Seventh Wave territories more than they were Steeleye Span for instance. The liner notes discuss the lovely Dan Pearce artwork that made their LP sleeves so distinctive and new interviews with Oberle and Gulland fill in how the band struggled and yet forged ahead (there are full LP credits on the final pages). 

But yet again the big news is BEN WISEMAN 24-Bit Digital Remasters from original Transatlantic Records tapes. These Gryphon albums have been issued before (even in Japan) but in my mind, they have never sounded this good - a timely and smart gathering together of their neglected brilliance. To the music...

Highlights include the very Rick Wakeman keyboard tale of forests, horses and dreaming of buxom wenches in "The Ploughman's Dream" on "Midnight Mushrumps" and the one true love acoustic prettiness of "The Unquiet Grave" on the self-titled debut. Speaking of the first album, it is undoubtedly the one most filled with ye olde dances on clavinets and oboes and the like ("Juniper Suite"). Those looking for Prog should go to the nineteen minutes of Side 1 for "Midnight Mushrumps" or the doomy organs of "Gulland Rock" or "Opening Moves" on "Red Queen To Gryphon Three". That beast harbours all their most admired work - long tracks filled with ye-olde rhythms mashed up with new Prog Rock Jazz Fusion flourishes on a Yamaha DX7 keyboard - all of it sounding like Elizabeth I has dropped acid and suddenly wants to expressive herself via the Clavinet, Bassoon, Recorder and Krumhorn (a bent Renaissance woodwind instrument). By the time we get to 1975 and "Raindance", there are even Focus guitar moments in "Down The Dog" and a gorgeous interpretation of that White Album gem "Mother Nature's Son" (The Beatles under another sun) - while "Wallbanger" has a Greenslade sway to its multiple keyboards funk. 

Gryphon would go on to release one further studio set - "Treason" in April 1977 on Harvest SHSP 4063. Neither number five nor the four albums that preceded it troubled any charts anywhere especially given Punk and New Wave's dominance of the mid to late Seventies scene. And always odd anyway – their music seemed even more wildly out of place on a musical map changed forever. 
Founder member Richard Harvey popped out a solo set called "Divisions On A Ground" in April 1975 (Transatlantic TRA 292) and would later pen music for TV and Cinema including Alan Bleasdale's much-loved "G.B.H." from 1991, along with "Animal Farm" and "Arabian Nights" in 1999 and 2000 respectively. 

Supporting Prog-Rock Supergroup YES on their US Tour of 1975 - Guitarist Steve Howe was so impressed with the band's instrumental dexterity that three Gryphonites - Graeme Taylor, David Oberle and Malcolm Bennett (he’d played on "Raindance") turned up on Howe’s debut solo LP "Beginnings" released November 1975 in the UK on Atlantic K 50151. The old band then returned to the fray with two retrospective CDs on Hux Records - "About As Curious As It Can Be" in March 2002 that featured BBC sessions from 1974 and 1975 and "Glastonbury Carol" in July 2003 that featured live recordings at the famous outdoor venue from 1971 to 1974. 

Gryphon were always an acquired taste (this music will definitely not be for everyone), but they were also one of those bands that have grown in stature since their demise – picked up on by Prog fanatics searching for a new fix that they might have missed first time around. 

Dancing in the rain with your frumpy Mushrumps – I'll have me some of that you saucy squire, thank you very much...

"Three Score & Ten: A Voice To The People – 70 Years Of The Oldest Independent Record Label In Great Britain – Topic Records" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – featuring Nic Jones, The Watersons, Eliza Carthy, Dave Swarbrick, Martin Carthy, Bob Pegg, Andrew Cronshaw, John Tams, Richard and Linda Thompson, Anne Briggs, June Tabor, Shirley Collins, William Clancy, The McPeake Family, Ewan MacColl, Seamus Ennis, The Boys Of The Lough, Dick Gaughan, Ron Kavana, John B. Spencer, Bob Davenport, Martin Simpson, Vin Garbutt, The Ian Campbell Folk Group, Kate Rusby (guesting) and many more (October 2009 UK Topic Records 7CD LP-Sized Book Set – Denis Blackham Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Down Behind The Gasworks..."

This might seem a bit incongruous on my part, but as a 62-year old lover of Acoustic Folk and Folk Rock for nigh on five decades (and token Irishman), I was expecting so much more from this 7CD Book Set. There is great music on here and discoveries old and new no doubt – I just wish I wanted to play it more. 

As an archival document, Topic Records' 70-year vaults trawl "Three Score & Ten..." is faultless; but as a listen, I found too much of it historically worthy but dreadfully dull and repetitive. I would go as far as saying to anyone considering a purchase to get an earful-in before you fork out lots of wonga on some bonny wee lass nostalgia trip. In the meantime, let's get to the saucy country gardens, tinker's old boots and wasps in the woodwork...

UK released 20 October 2009 - "Three Score & Ten: A Voice To The People" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Topic Records TOPIC70 (Barcode 714822007085) is subtitled '70 Years Of The Oldest Independent Record Label In Great Britain - Topic Records'. 

The album-sized hardback book of 110-pages houses 7CDs (4 in the front leaf and three in the rear) and also comes with an LP-sized 4-Page separate insert - 'Topic Records Complete Catalogue 1939-2009' which lists all releases from the 78's of the Thirties up to the CDs of the 00's. Each CD is themed as follows:

CD1 "...A Selection Of Treasures From The Topic Catalogue" (68:41 minutes, 16 tracks)

CD2 "England Arise!" (67:18 minutes, 20 tracks)

CD3 "Ireland Boys, Hurrah!" (70:27 minutes, 24 tracks) 

CD4 "Scotia The Brave" (70:48 minutes, 22 tracks) 

CD5 "The Singer & The Song" (65:14 minutes, 17 tracks)

CD6 "The People's Flag" (67:40 minutes, 23 tracks)

CD7 "...Even More Treasures From The Topic Catalogue" (66:54 minutes, 22 tracks)

What I will say is that the David Suff/Tony Engle compiled book presentation is a truly beautiful thing to look at and handle (see photos) and the Transfers/Remasters by DENIS BLACKHAM at Skye Mastering are exemplary. Even when your dealing with Fifties and Sixties stuff that is little more than a field recording (I notice one was done in Coolock in Dublin, my old stomping ground) – Blackham somehow manages a clarity and warmth that should be the envy of other Audio Engineers. 

Blackham did the Island Folk Rock mini clamshell box set "Meet Me On The Ledge" in 2008 for Universal and his exceptional remastering of overly familiar material was one of the real reasons as to why that set was so strong. I've reviewed his work with Horslips and Mick Greenwood too. 

The list of old and contemporary artists on "Three Score & Ten..." is impressive – Nic Jones, The Watersons, Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby (guesting on two tracks), Dave Swarbrick, Martin Carthy, Andrew Cronshaw, John Tams, Richard and Linda Thompson, Anne Briggs, June Tabor, Shirley Collins, William Clancy, The McPeake Family, Ewan MacColl, Seamus Ennis, The Boys Of The Lough, Dick Gaughan, Ron Kavana, John B. Spencer, Bob Davenport, Martin Simpson, Vin Garbutt, The Ian Campbell Folk Group and many, many more. There are a few American acts like Rambling Jack Elliott and Jesse Fuller and some European acts - but mostly its Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English Folk artists many of whom have been forgotten with the passing of time.  

There are interesting contemporary cover versions of Dylan's "Master Of War" by Martin Carthy while Ireland’s supergroup Patrick Street (Andy Irvine, Kevin Burke, Arty McGlynn, Bill Whelan et al) and their go at the Penguin Café Orchestra instrumental "Music For A Found Harmonium" while the obscure Traditional "Bitter Withy" is reinterpreted by John Tams into a magisterial build-up of Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Dobro and Banjo. There is also Dick Gaughan and his lovely 1981 album "Handful Of Earth" and that Anne Briggs track feels so special you can't even put your finger on it. Though it's a brave man indeed who will sit through nearly eleven minutes of Mike Waterson singing Acapella about "Tamlyn" on Disc 1 no matter how much of a Fairport fan you may be. 

"Three Score & Ten: A Voice To The People" is a mixed bag for me then, saved by those beautiful remasters and occasional disc re-discoveries. Folk of this kind is very much an acquired finger-in-the-ear taste – but you also can’t help thinking – thank God someone recorded all these voices and local singing traditions in all those dirty old towns, diesel engines and dawdle areas behind the gasworks...